In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free—and love comes at the highest price of all.

When
Kitty Tylney’s best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King
Henry VIII’s heart and brings Kitty to court, she’s thrust into a world
filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No
longer stuck in Cat’s shadow, Kitty’s now caught between two men—the
object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also
full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat’s
meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a
good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her
head.

MY REVIEW:

I
received this audiobook for review from the publisher. I did not
receive any compensation for my review, and the views expressed
herein are my own.

This historical fiction novel by debut author, Katherine Longshore, takes
place during the time of the Tudor Era.

Kitty Tylney is the best friend or, more appropriately,
servant of Catherine Howard (aka “Cat”), who longs to become a member of the
nobility. When the opportunity arises that King Henry VIII is looking for a new
wife (after the disastrous and short-lived marriage to his fifth wife, Anne of
Cleves), he chooses young Cat who is about 30 years his junior.

I feel that I am in the minority here when it comes to my
opinion on the book. While I do enjoy historical fiction, I have to admit that
I found this novel very hard for me to get into. I surmise that my difficulty
in enjoying the story stemmed from my inability to connect with the characters.
I do not have to like a character to enjoy the story, but a good author should
evoke a strong emotion from the reader, whether it be love and adoration or
disgust and revulsion! I felt neither but, rather, was “ho-hum” about the story.

Cat reminds me of a spoiled, petulant child who always gets
her way. She cares nothing for her “friends,” and routinely uses them whenever
she fancies to get what she wants. She cares more about her looks, material
possessions, and station than anything of real importance. I did not care for
her character at all. I even had a hard time liking Kitty, who considered
herself a friend to Kat but also did not fool herself that she was more than
she was: She had nothing and was nothing without Cat. I wanted to like Kitty, I
really did, but I had a hard time respecting her choice to become a martyr for
Cat. She always put aside her own happiness and felt she was undeserving of
anything for herself.

The pace of the book was very slow, and I was rather bored
for the most part. However, the last third of the tale picked up, and I was
happy to see Cat and Kitty get their comeuppance! Overall, I had high hopes for
this debut but was disappointed. It is my understanding that there will be additional
books in the series, all featuring different people from the Tudor Court. I am
really on the fence as to whether I will continue with the series. My love of
historical fiction and the time period makes me want to give it another go, but
we shall see.

Jennifer Ikeda is a new-to-me narrator, and I thought she
was very good. I loved her British accent, and I will definitely look for more
audiobooks from her. Honestly, if it weren’t for her excellent narration, I may
not have finished the audiobook. The audiobook was enhanced with instrumental
music to introduce different sections of the book, and I felt that the music
was a great tie-in to the time period.

MY RATING:

2 stars!! Meh, it was just "ok". Thanks to Penguin Audio for the review copy!

Hi, Lilian. As I mentioned in my review, I really feel like I'm in the minority with my opinion. Most people seem to really love it. If you are not a big historical fiction fan or lover of the Tudor Era, I'd say to skip it.